Not all scientific studies are created equal: sometimes studies may be retracted due to errors in test results, or considered outdated after a significant amount of time has passed. Below are some resources one can use to check scientific studies to ensure they are accurate and up to date.
- Snopes is one of the biggest fact checking websites on the internet and covers a very wide range of topics from the newsworthy (political claims, health treatments) to the more niche (small clickbait stories you might see on Twitter). They have a search bar, which can be invaluable to tracking down specific content. While the ratings of (true, false, misleading, ect) on each article are a quick shorthand to gage accuracy of a story, looking at the full reporting is often valuable as ratings can be subjective and the full reporting allows you to make your own judgement calls.
- Another general fact checking website. Like Snopes they do have a search feature and they also have a dropdown menu that allows one to browse fact checks by popular topics around the world. They also run Sci Check which fact checks claims about science in the media and Players Guide 2022 which follows groups that seek to influence the 2022 election. The Players Guide is a great resource for recognizing astroturf, which is when lobbying organizations or corporate interest groups impersonate concerned citizens to influence political change.
PolitiFact:
- Politifact is a fact checking website that fact checks political news often with a focus on the United States. They do also cover some non-political viral content, but their focus is the claims of elected officials. Much like Snopes, they have a rating system that accompanies full reporting about each story.
Real Clear Politics:
- Another fact checking website that focuses on politics. They have a database that can be used to find claims by verdict, author and type of bias.
Retraction Watch:
- Retraction Watch is a database that contains lists of scientific articles that have been retracted. Scientific articles can be retracted for a variety of reasons, but when an article is retracted it is considered not a reliable source of information. One of the great things about Retraction Watch is that the database search includes the reasons an article was retracted in their results which is crucial information that can sometimes be more difficult to find. They also have a blog where they cover retractions on a weekly basis for those interested in scientific fraud.
All Sides:
- All Sides is a website that reports on media bias. On their website, they have a media bias chart that labels news sources by their partisan slant. They also have a similar chart for fact checking websites. For those interested in types of media bias, their list of different kinds of bias may be informative.
